So he led us to a minor road, a bridge over a stream, and what seemed to be an alley crossing over the area.
"This was an important spot a few hundred years ago," Fox said. "There were fewer buildings, a lovely fountain, and statues of heroes."
I realized he'd been here and most likely knew more about the Forgotten than he had told us. I wanted to demand answers, but I worried that with so much magic about, such a demand might take on a different life than I had intended. This was not a night to take chances.
Have you ever walked down a street at night and thought someone followed you? Then, looking back, you see no one?
It was like that, but knowing something really was there.
Colin handed me to Luna, indicating the trouble was about to start. He and Darian slowed until they were behind Luna and me. Fox ran around us, kicking up almost visible traces of natural magic.
Shosha slept in Luna's pocket.
We were near the spot where the old fountain had been. It was easy to make out the circular pattern of old brick and the metal shield that now blocked off the system that had brought water to the surface.
And this was when something odd happened ... as if this midnight journey had been anything normal before now.
I heard children laughing. This wasn't anything I had expected. They were coming down the main road, swirling shapes that divided into individuals with discernible faces. Happy children. How could they be Forgotten?
"What happened here?" Colin asked.
"They were part of a refugee group," Fox said. "They were told to wait by the fountain."
The children's memory of the fountain, mixed with the wild magic in the air, made it real again. It did the same for the children.
"What happened here?" Darion asked, his voice as soft as a breeze.
"Slavers," the fox said with a snarl. "The children were traded for supplies to feed refugees on their way across the land. The slavers will arrive soon. They'll kill the youngest and the weakest of the group."
"No," Luna said. "We need to find a way to stop them!"
"No," Fox replied with a violent shake of his head. "We come here to ensure all goes as it did that night. Some have tried to change it, but it did not go well."
"No," Luna repeated. There was no arguing with her.
And I found I agreed with her anyway. The children were almost real already and I heard the sound of another group coming to the fountain.
They laughed.
I think the laughter upset the fae to a point beyond reason. I jumped from Colin's hold and almost landed in the water. Instead, I caught the sleeve of a young girl's shirt.
"Go!" I told her. "Gather them all and run!"
I hadn't considered the effect of a talking cat.
She screamed. I yowled. Luna came running to help, and beyond her, I could see the two slavers and their men arriving. The male slaver looked fat, scowling, and angry.
The woman was Maude.
The others might not have recognized her since she was so young. They didn't understand why I growled, leaped across the fountain, and charged toward her. Colin tried to use magic to hold me back, but my power surged through it.
I saw when she recognized me. I didn't expect her to scream in fear and shock.
"You can't be Neko! He's trapped!"
Colin, Dorian, and perhaps even Luna understood now. Shosha cried out and hid. I kept going because I had her at a disadvantage for once.
I never considered that her companions might also have magic. The stout leader spun on me with a curse and fire in his hands. I swerved in time, although I hated giving up my attack on Maude.
That's when I realized the guards all but glowed with magic. And despite how they looked, they were not human. They would be no help for me, and finding myself at their feet was a bad position.
Dart one way, slip the other, swipe at a reaching hand while avoiding the knife in the other. Magic didn't seem to give them extra speed or strength. It just made them human.
Outwitting humans was never that difficult. The guards were too close together, too. So I confused them, dancing around their legs and then down into a crevice at the edge of the street.
I had lost them, and it was even a few heartbeats before Maude began to yell.
"Where is he? Where did the cat go!"
"Damn the cat," the man snarled. "Get the children! If the guard comes along, we can't talk our way out of this!"
"That's why we have powers!"
"And if we use any more, we'll draw the watchers down on us. Grab the children."
"No," Dorian said. It was a simple word with a lot of power. "You will not take them."
"Fae," the man mumbled, and I could hear a hint of worry in his voice this time. "Maude --"
"I want the cat. Neko, come to me."
She had the power to call me. I had to put all my little strength into not moving so that I became almost as still as stone. Maude and her companions had limited time, and Maude wouldn't risk getting caught even to catch me. She was already siphoning off some of her magic to rope in the frightened children. Did they expect the fae to do nothing? The sudden surge of magic brightened the world. Maude yelled --
And then the watchers arrived with their own magic. I tried to tunnel my way into the ground. This was not good.
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